Dom Kennedy Says He May Never Release Another Free Project

Dom Kennedy, who has released several projects for free, including 2012’s Yellow Album, says he may never release another project for free.

“The Yellow Album was free, but that was only because it was by choice,” Kennedy said in an interview with AllHipHop. “I was going into it and that was my mindset. Honestly, after I started making it, I knew it was going to be tight and I could sell it and all that, but in my mind and in my heart, I went in to make this for free. But I don’t know if I’ll ever do a mixtape or something like that–something for free. I don’t really see how it would fit into what I do, especially at this point.

“The goal is to get better and to go harder,” Kennedy continued. “If my next goal is to be 10 times better than Get Home Safely, why would I put that out for free if I didn’t put Get Home Safelyfor free?”

Get Home Safely was released in October 2013. HipHopDX gave the album a 3 out of 5 X rating.

“The album’s focus on hyper-locality is as present in the lyrics as it is in the production, and name-drops of Taste of Soul, El Pollo Loco, Kenneth Hahn and Crenshaw do Los Angeles as much justice as the thick, Chronic-style basslines,” HipHopDX said of the album at the time. “There are certainly times when something is left to be desired, but even when it doesn’t feel like Dom’s saying much, he’s touching on a visceral component of Funk that’s been absent for quite some time. One characteristic of the album is Dom allotting the last minute of a song to let the beat ride out, stepping in only to repeat a chorus or give a shoutout. He does it on more than half of the tracks, but it’s strangely not a cop out. Instead, Dom lets the vibe of his project speak as loudly as its hooks and verses.”